1592 The Empire We All Dreamed of - Chapter 3
Only Noblemtl
(03)
Cotton jacket
It was a night when you could hear crickets chirping.
The light from the lamp was faint through the door frame of the three-bay thatched house, but it was nothing compared to the moonlight that fell into the yard.
Jiwoo carefully rubbed the black surface with a cloth.
In the past two months, we have fought five large and small battles and lost many of our fellow soldiers.
‘I have no intention of dying heroically for the nobles.’
Strictly speaking, he and his soldiers were under the command of the Bukpyeongsa (北評事). However, the shackles of being a criminal who had lost the initial battle and fled still hindered Jeongmunbu’s progress.
Gyeongseong, where each force cooperated uneasily, was a place where a knife could be stabbed in the back at any moment.
Jeongmunbu then beheaded the leaders of the rebellion, drove out the Jurchen who had invaded the border, and won a great victory in battle against the Japanese army. In the end, Kato Kiyomasa suffered the humiliation of losing half of his troops here in Hamgyeong Province and retreating.
‘I will definitely survive. And……’
When he shined the light of the lamp on the sword, the reflected light filled his eyes. Feeling a sense of foreboding, he lowered the sword. Then he picked up another sword.
There can be no such thing as continuous luck in repeated battles. In a battlefield where skulls are shattered, brains are sprayed out, and intestines are spilled out through split stomachs, it is literally luck that you are alive.
A clean cloth glided across the black surface.
‘The reason I went through a time leap is not to become a rotting corpse on the battlefield.’
As an individual, there is nothing you can do in Joseon. You can either die as a low-ranking military officer or, at best, survive and receive an official position.
It was meaningless. Ironically, in the Imjin year of Joseon, there were many heroes. And according to their words, most of them were miserable.
‘I will make the choice to live.’
He started out as a government slave, bribed the county magistrate for smuggling, and was recruited as a soldier by killing invading Jurchen and capturing horses. In this way, his contribution to Joseon over the past 10 years was nothing more than a struggle to survive.
Jiwoo, who put down his sword, looked at the two scars. A sword with its teeth missing is easily broken because it cannot receive power evenly. He survived repeated battles, but his future will not be any different.
He shook his head. There was no answer. But he had to decide. There was no time.
Suddenly he looked outside the door for any sign of movement.
“Daejeong (隊正). It’s a blessing.”
“Come in.”
An old friend knelt before him.
Jiwoo shook his head for a moment and clicked his tongue.
“What is it that you lack that makes you bow down to me? Please don’t do it, even in private.”
“I can’t do that until I pay my life debt. And.”
The bastard raised his head and stared at Jiwoo.
“Right now, His Majesty needs a trustworthy subordinate more than a friend.”
“Okay.”
Jiwoo, who was speechless for a moment, let out a short sigh.
“Okay, I’ll give you the order. Just sit comfortably.”
“yes.”
“What is the situation?”
“General Jeong has only focused on training the volunteer army and has not done anything special. And… it is said that the number of volunteer army members gathered exceeded 300.”
There are about 500 slaves and farmers who follow Guksepil, but more and more volunteers will gather, and the moment Jeongmunbu gains a foothold, the Battle of Bukgwan will begin.
He had to be careful. He had 17 soldiers and about 50 local soldiers relying on him.
Jiwoo, who had been lost in thought, returned to reality.
“Is that a cotton jacket?”
“Yes, as you said, they said that they glued 10 sheets of paper and 10 sheets of cotton together.”
The bastard held out what he had placed next to him.
Jiwoo went in and measured its size and weight. It was about 1m wide and 1.2m long.
“Good. It’s lighter than I thought.”
“We have prepared 100 pieces of pine board of the same size as 60 pieces of cotton gap. The paper craftsman said that we can fill the remaining 40 pieces of cotton gap in two days.”
“100 shields with 8 stones of white rice……”
These were the military provisions that Jiwoo brought with Myeongcheon’s troops. One seok of Joseon rice was approximately 110kg, so it was quite a large amount.
“I’ve used up half of my rations, so I’m worried about the future.”
“Just worry about what’s coming next. And if you survive, worry about the next day.”
The bastard nodded silently, and Jiwoo stroked his face with a satisfied expression.
If attached to a pine shield, it will serve as sufficient bulletproofing.
In fact, in the late Joseon Dynasty, Joseon succeeded in an experiment to block gun bullets with 12 layers of cotton and produced cotton armor by adding one more layer.
It was also used in actual combat; in 1871, the American army that invaded Ganghwa Island was deeply impressed by the Joseon army that bravely charged forward despite being subjected to a hail of bullets, and took the armor as trophies.
“Send men to General Jeong and the lord of the castle as soon as day breaks.”
“I will do that.”
“You’ve worked hard. You can go and rest now.”
The bastard stood up, nodded, turned around, hesitated for a moment, then opened his eyes half-sleepingly and said a word.
“But does it really stop bullets?”
“You’ll know if you demonstrate it in front of everyone tomorrow.”
Jiwoo smiled, showing off his teeth for the first time in a while.
* * *
Gyeongseong is a town wall built in 1107 during the reign of King Yejong of Goryeo.
Although it was greatly expanded in later years, Gyeongseong at this time was a large castle measuring 7 m in height and about 1 km in length.
In the early afternoon, people gathered and chattered in the square opposite the government office that stood in for the barracks.
It seemed like all the residents of the town, with over a thousand households, had come out here.
“What is that?”
“It’s like a shield? But I don’t know what’s wrapped around the front.”
“Step back.”
Soldiers controlled the crowd, but not in a forceful way. They just kept a reasonable distance. Excited children ran around.
“Hehehe.”
“Hey, who are the parents of the child? Take care of the children.”
On one side, soldiers were busy preparing for a demonstration under the instructions of the sage.
The soldiers drove stakes in front of the stone wall of the government office and fixed five shields on them. The front of the shields had a visor attached to them.
As the heat abated, a cool breeze blew. The people who had filled the streets sat on thatched roofs or climbed up stone walls to watch.
“It’s a feast.”
The head of the tent said something. Guk Se-pil looked at the sight blankly.
“So what? If the people are happy, then that is good.”
“Ahem.”
Jiwoo, who had seen what the two people were doing, turned his eyes to the demonstration area.
‘Are they gentlemen who think of the people, or are they just pretending to be gentlemen?’
The three people’s different dreams stopped at the signal of the beast. Jiwoo stood up and looked at the two people.
“What more explanation do you need? Let’s watch a demonstration first.”
When Jiwoo raised his hand to Chuseng, Chuseng nodded and moved his soldiers.
Two men stood holding rifles a hundred paces in front of the shield.
They were the brothers Jiro and Saburo, prisoners of war from the previous battle.
Three Joseon soldiers stood behind him with swords, ready to strike at any sign of trouble.
First, Jiro shouted out the process of loading the musket, and Saburo repeated it.
“Load the powder!”
The brother deftly moved the pouch of gunpowder to the muzzle of the gun.
“Load the bullets!”
Then he took a lead bullet from his waist pocket and put it into the muzzle of the gun. Then he pushed the trigger to compact the gunpowder and bullet.
As claimed by the 15 musketeers, the Jiro brothers skillfully performed about 10 procedures while shouting out loud, which impressed the onlookers.
“It fits together really well.”
“You’re saying that you can fight like an evil spirit with such a small body?”
“They’ve been fighting each other for hundreds of years. They must be very skilled.”
“firing!”
Boom.
“Eek.”
“Oh my.”
The loud crackling sound of the black powder startled the people. Some of them even collapsed on the ground.
“Oh my, my ears are ringing. I can’t even think straight.”
Guk Se-pil grumbled and rubbed his ears.
The head of the department nodded as if in agreement.
“It’s less than the sound of a cannon, but hearing the sound of dozens or hundreds of muskets makes my bones tremble.”
The memory of the bullet that pierced through the armor and lodged in the shoulder was vivid. How many soldiers had fallen to that tiny lump of lead? They were elite soldiers who had easily cut down those vicious Jurchen bandits.
Whether people were surprised or not, Brother Jiro worked hard as he was first instructed.
They advanced twenty steps forward towards the shield.
“Load the bullets!…… Fire!”
Lie, lie.
The Jiro brothers took another twenty steps forward and repeated the same movement.
“firing!”
Boom.
After firing five times from one hundred to twenty paces, the brothers turned toward the tent and took up the standing posture.
‘It’s useful. It’s a shame that there’s a risk of betrayal.’
As Jiwoo nodded slightly and raised his hand, the brothers left.
“Go and check it yourself.”
“……”
As Jiwoo left the tent, Jeongmunbu and Guksepil followed him.
‘I was sure of the results, but I wonder how good they will be.’
In front of everyone, he first flipped over the shield at a distance of 100 steps.
It was clean.
“Hoo.”
Next, he flipped over the shields in order up to a range of 20 steps.
‘It’s a success.’
“Oh.”
The chief of staff personally raised his shield and inspected everything.
“This is a shield that hit you from 20 paces away.”
The back of the shield was clean, but at first glance the visor appeared to be pierced.
Jiwoo tore off the faceplate of the shield.
The bullet penetrated the visor and lodged in the sash. Still, the back of the shield was clean enough to block it.
“That’s amazing.”
At 20, it is a distance that can be taken in in one breath. It was said that it could neutralize a rifle.
Former North Korean critic Jeong Mun-bu clenched his fist.
When a thunderous sound was heard, dozens of men would fall and the battle line would break apart. If they could reduce the casualties of the experienced soldiers at the front, they had nothing to fear from the dwarves.
This was an amazing artifact that could turn the tide of the world.
“As you can see, it can be used as a shield by adding it to pine boards, or it can be made into a vest shape.”
“agreement?”
The two understood the meaning immediately.
“A shield may take less space, but it would require a lot of materials. A robe would save space, but it would require more space.”
“The consent must be made by overlapping at least 13 layers of anonymous and paper, and must be draped so as to cover the chest and stomach.”
“Anything more than that would be a waste. The point is that we should focus on the assault itself.”
The head of the department muttered while caressing the shield, and Guk Se-pil had a sullen look on his face as if he was thinking about something. It seemed as if he was thinking about the amount of cotton and paper he had.
‘There’s no need to drag out the story.’
Jiwoo stepped back as if he had said everything he wanted to say.
The fear of muskets was a burden to the Joseon army throughout the Imjin War. I have given you the solution, so the smart ones will figure it out.
‘I hope this becomes a butterfly effect.’
“Good job, Daejung. You’ve worked hard. The structure is simple, so production will be easy.”
“It is not necessary for all troops to be equipped. I think it is sufficient for only the veteran soldiers at the front of the battle line to be equipped.”
“Then, in the long term, it would be better to focus on producing dongui (胴衣).”
As expected, it was Jeongmunbu. The vest form that allowed both hands to be free was the one that could maximize combat power. As a general, he had a clear idea of where the Joseon army should ultimately go.
“Here’s another new weapon.”
But all the attention around them was focused on the mask.
Jiwoo picked up his whip, then put it down and shrugged his shoulders.
‘Well, you’ll only realize its usefulness if you try it yourself.’
‘With these items, it will be easier to deal with the Japanese pirates in the future.’
‘He is a loyal officer without a doubt.’
It was a moment when even Jiwoo’s somewhat stiff attitude was transformed into the spirit of a warrior.
“Okay, everyone, it’s time for breakfast, right? I’ve prepared lunch. Let’s go.”
“Hmm, I will gladly accept it.”
Jeong Moon-bu looked back at the cavalry captain Kang Moon-woo, who was planning to accompany him. Kang Moon-bu was listening to his subordinate’s words with a stern expression.
He came over a moment later and reported with a serious expression.
“They say the enemy attacked a village near Gapsan.”
“Gapsan? Isn’t there an army there?”
“They say they killed everyone, regardless of age or gender. They say they laid out the corpses all along the road leading to Gapsan.”
“Okay.”
“Ugh.”
The people of the north, however rough, will not stand up to an army.
“Is this an example set in the midst of plunder?”
“They say that the refugees who followed the scouts are gathered outside the city gate.”
The tax collector called Kano.
“After bringing the refugees into the castle, provide them with food and comfort them.”
It was an impeccable and swift action by a powerful man who had taken control of Gyeongseong.
“While we are convening the meeting, have breakfast. The stronger you are, the more effectively you can deal with your enemies.”
Jiwoo and Jeongmunbu headed towards the inner room, and the servants who had received the order from Guksepil scattered in all directions.
This is Gyeongseong. The enemy’s momentum was so strong that groups with different opinions had to cooperate.
It was a time when the cold wind made people close their collars.